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Don't go there? When famous numbers are worn by forgettable players

Real Madrid have yet to fill their number 11 shirt ahead of the new season, seemingly keeping the number open for Gareth Bale.

Last season it was taken by Ricardo Carvalho, meaning Bale need not worry about taking the number of a Madrid legend.

Meanwhile, by contrast, after just one season the pressure of donning Manchester United’s famous number seven has apparently proven too much for Antonio Valencia.

In what seems like a bid to stop comparisons with the likes of Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo, he has ditched the iconic shirt and returned to the far more comfortable no.25.

Man United's number seven is one of many difficult shirts to fill, so talkSPORT looks at more tough tasks and the men who have so miserably failed to do so.

Mark Bosnich follows Peter Schmeichel in Man United's no.1
Peter Schmeichel overshadows most people – both literally and figuratively – but none more so than the man tasked with replacing him after Man United's famous 1999 treble-winning season. Luckily, that responsibility fell to Mark Bosnich, a guy who is fazed by nothing, however, unluckily he was not nearly as good as the Great Dane and left the club after just one season.

Defender William Gallas takes over Dennis Bergkamp's no.10
The non-flying Dutchman brought class, impeccable technique and a touch of total football to the Premier League as he played a pivotal part in Arsenal’s most successful period in their recent history. There weren’t many attackers in the game who could successfully assume the no.10 shirt when Bergkamp left north London in 2006, so Arsene Wenger avoided the issue altogether and gave it to sulky French centre-back William Gallas. Talk about chalk and cheese.

Milan Jovanovic's brief run in Xabi Alonso's no.14
Liverpool's recent demise is often attributed to the 5 August 2009, when Alonso swapped Merseyside for Madrid and the man who inherited the Kop favourite’s no.14 was Serbian meat head Milan Jovanovic. Initially, his move to Anfield was in danger of not happening when Rafael Benitez left the club, but unfortunately for Liverpool fans he went on to play 18 times for the Reds, scoring twice and not once finding a team-mate with a pass over more than a couple of yards.

Andrei Kanchelskis dons Matt Le Tissier's no.7
Le Tissier was nicknamed God by the Southampton faithful and it’s not hard to see why. He is the prime example of the dying breed that is the one-club man, playing more than 500 times and scoring 209 times from midfield. If he was God, Andrei Kanchelskis was certainly not the second coming. He managed one game for Saints before leaving to play for every young football fan’s dream club, Al-Hilal FC in Saudi Arabia.

Obafemi Martins given Alan Shearer's famous no.9 shirt
The Premier League's most famous number nine scored 206 goals for Newcastle and became a club icon. Upon his departure in 2006, the Toon Army erected a huge banner, which stood taller than the Angel of the North, above St James's Park watering hole, Shearer's bar, in honour of the man himself. His replacement, Obafemi Martins, lasted three seasons after producing multiple performances that led fans to believe he was spending too much time in his predecessor’s bar.

Bonus:
Some players are just too good that clubs are forced to retire their shirt numbers like Chelsea where no one has worn Gianfranco Zola's no.25 since he left the club in 2003. West Ham retired their World Cup winning captain Booby Moore's no.6 in 2008, Milan withdrew Paolo Maldini's iconic no.3 and Raul, Spain and Real's goal machine's no.7 was retired. However, it was not the La Liga club where he played 741 games and scored 323 times who have done it, but German club Schalke, whom he played two seasons for.